Two Chicago police officers who were involved in the shooting of an unarmed man at the Grand Red Line station on Friday afternoon have been relieved of their police powers, a CPD spokesperson said this afternoon.
Meanwhile, CWBChicago has secured a full copy of the arrest report, police inventory paperwork, and charging documents that police filed against the man who was shot by one of the officers.
The decision to strip the officers of police powers came hours after the Civilian Office of Police Accountability [COPA] recommended the action on Wednesday morning.
Two officers who each have just over two years on the police force tried to stop 33-year-old Ariel Roman at the Grand station after they allegedly saw him pass between two train cars in violation of city ordinance.
The officers are identified in court and city database records as 31-year-old Melvina Bogard and 30-year-old Bernard Butler. Each is paid $72,501 per year by the police department.
A CTA passenger posted two widely-shared videos of Bogard and Butler struggling with Roman on the subway platform. Roman, of Edgewater, was critically wounded after a female officer shot him in the abdomen and buttocks.
Police prepared paperwork to charge Roman with felony manufacture-delivery of cannabis, felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of 30 to 100 grams of cannabis, and two misdemeanor counts of resisting police.
But Sunday, minutes before prosecutors were to bring the charges against Roman before a judge, CPD announced the department had decided against pursuing the case in court “given the totality of circumstances and the department’s significant level of concern around this incident.”
Now, CWBChicago has secured a complete copy of the arrest report, charging documents, and other paperwork that police prepared in the hours after Roman was shot.
Two 18th District police officers filed Roman’s arrest report on behalf of the cops who are seen in the video. The transit officers were being treated at Rush University Medical Center for injuries they received during the incident.
Bogard suffered “lacerations to both hands and a swollen bloody lip” while Butler’s injuries are listed as “blunt trauma” and “lacerations to his left and right hands, a bruise to his nose, and swelling to the right knee.”
Meanwhile, the report notes that Roman “received injuries” during a confrontation with the officers, but it does not mention that he had been shot twice.
The 18th District officers wrote the following narrative to support Roman’s arrest:
The above offender was arrested in that he was positively identified as the offender who was approached by the two victim arresting Chicago Police officers, both of whom were in full field uniform and in the lawful performance of their duties as such.
The offender was observed by the victim officers going from train car to train car in violation of CTA ordinance going through one car to another car while train is in motion.
The offender refused to comply with the verbal direction of the officers who were taking the appropriate enforcement action at that time. The offender refused all lawful orders from the officers and engaged in a physical altercation with the officers during which both officers sustained bodily injury during the process of attempting to place the offender in custody.
Victim Officer M. Bogard #3018 sustained lacerations to the right and left hands and a swollen lacerated lip as a result of the actions of offender Roman.
Victim Officer B. Butler #3036 sustained lacerations to his left and right hands, a bruise to his nose, and swelling to the right knee as a result of the actions of offender Roman.
The offender was subsequently placed in custody and transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for injuries he received during the physical altercation with the victim officers.
A custodial search of the victim’s backpack revealed the following: One Planter’s Peanut jar with a blue lid containing suspect cannabis, one Planter’s Peanut jar with an orange lid containing suspect cannabis, two large clear plastic zip-lock bags, each containing individually wrapped plastic bags containing suspect cannabis, two black plastic film containers each containing suspect cannabis, one digital scale, and an unknown amount of empty plastic bags.
One plastic film container containing a white powder substance, suspect cocaine, was recovered from the left inner jacket pocket of offender Roman subsequent to his arrest.
Offender has a non-serviceable warrant. Gang affiliated Spanish Gangster Disciple. Gang card. No investigative alerts. Name check clear.
Roman’s attorney, Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez, did not immediately reply to a Wednesday afternoon request for comment.
Elsewhere in the report, an officer notes that Roman’s alleged street gang affiliation is based on the department’s controversial gang database.
Officers alleged in charging papers that Roman was carrying a total of 45 grams of cannabis and three grams of cocaine.
Cops claimed in inventory paperwork that they found 19 clear, knotted bags of suspected cannabis in Roman’s backpack. The film container allegedly recovered from Roman’s jacket contained “three clear knotted plastic bags containing a white rock like/white powder.”
CPD also confirmed today that members of its transit unit, including Bogard and Butler, do not wear body cameras. Meanwhile, despite reports elsewhere, there has been no change in command at CPD’s transit unit.
“Commander Cindy Sam is still on active duty and is the commander of the Public Transportation Section,” a CPD spokesperson said Wednesday.
The shooting is under investigation by the FBI, CPD, and COPA.
Note: CWBChicago removed some of Roman’s personal identifying information from the police report narrative reprinted above. We also broke the one-paragraph narrative into smaller paragraphs to improve readability.
